


Wonderwall

by KittyJinxter



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AkuRoku - Freeform, Best Friends Leon and Larxene, Cleon, M/M, Tattoo Fic, everyone is tatted, leon is a vegan and cloud is a vegetarian, one character is a drug addict, porn stars
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-26 17:17:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 19,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1696196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyJinxter/pseuds/KittyJinxter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roxas crashed through his shop four times before Axel realized that he loved him, but right from the beginning he couldn't get Roxas out of his mind.<br/>Or: "The one where Roxas is an ex porn star, Axel does his tattoos, Cloud snorts too much cocaine and Leon doesn't know what to do with himself."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is also posted on my FF.net account by the same name~

The first time he saw Roxas wasn't exactly magical. In fact, it was chaotic, and full of tears and screaming. Not from either of them, but from the person that Roxas had with him, who he had brought into Axel's tattoo shop for a cover up. Roxas's friend Sora had been out with a few friends the weekend before. Too many drinks and being friends with a bunch of rowdy men had resulted in a very bad tramp stamp for the poor victim. At first, Sora had refused to show it, and said that he didn't want anyone to see it. He only relented when Roxas shot him a very irritated look and a low threat underneath his breath that Axel didn't quite catch. Sora heard it, however, and agreed to show the tattoo and get it covered as long as it was only Axel who saw it.

Before he knew it, Sora was thrown onto his stomach in the private office space, the door to the room closed behind him. Roxas sat in a seat that was at the head of the chair, running his hands through Sora's hair and saying things like, “Come on, tattoos don't hurt that bad. Look at how many Cloud has, and he's never complained once, right?”

“How bad could this tattoo possibly be?” Axel had laughed, pulling his hair back into a high ponytail. He couldn't stop looking at Roxas, who was admittedly very beautiful. Not that Axel had noticed that. Not at all.

The tattoo was bad.

Sora had gotten “YOLO” tattooed onto his lower back. However, that wasn't where the issue was. The problem, which was so obvious that it hurt, was that the font that they used was made completely out of penises.

Axel had to pull the shirt back down. “Oh my fucking god.”

Roxas gave him a momentary smile, and even his teeth were perfect. His eyes are a light blue, his eyelashes long and dark. He looks like he'd pass as a young high school student, though he flashed his ID at the door and was definitely much older than he appeared. He wore dark, tight jeans, a baseball tee with a logo Axel didn't recognize, and boots that went halfway up his calf, tied up at the top in a tight bow. His hair was a golden blonde, possibly bleached but probably not. It was pushed up in spikes, and was 'windswept' look to it. His hands were small and delicate, threading their way through Sora's hair to soothe him while he blubbered. Axel hadn't even started the tattoo yet and the kid was already crying.

Rolling his eyes, Axel set up the station, squirting the ink for the tattoo into one of the plastic holders. The kid was at least smart enough to bring in a design: a large, solid black Batman symbol, which would easily cover up the light colored lettering that would be underneath.

Wiping down the area, Sora tensed underneath Axel's hands. Axel forced himself to not sigh. “I'm going to start now. Take a deep breath.”

Sora obliged, choking back a sob and reaching a hand up to grip tightly onto Roxas's wrist. Roxas only smiled gently and continued to rub his head with his free hand.

Sora was, to be frank, a little bitch through the whole thing. Granted, it was a large tattoo that took a long time, and it not only had to be given a thick outline but it also had to be filled in completely in black, but no one should be able to cry that much for that long. On top of that, Sora was a bleeder, and Axel found himself changing gloves twice.

Halfway through, Roxas had convinced Sora to calm down enough so that he would let his hand go, which Sora had been holding for almost two hours leaving it a sweaty and tear covered mess. He'd even gotten him to put on the headphones that they'd brought so that he could calm down just a bit more while he listened to the music. Roxas gave Axel an apologetic look before caressing the top of Sora's head. “I'm sorry. He really is a big baby.”

Axel grunted and wiped off some blood from Sora's back. “I've had worse. I had this one girl in here once- she wanted a tramp stamp for her eighteenth birthday- she was crying so hard that she passed out. As long as this kid doesn't pass out on me, we're good.”

Roxas laughed quietly, looking every bit as beautiful as a fucking rose, and Axel wanted to touch his face. If that wasn't weird, he didn't know what was.

Roxas, who had taken to his phone now that Axel was almost done with the tattoo, didn't talk for the rest of the visit. Axel wanted him to, yeah, but he chose it better to just let it be and finish his work. The tattoo was coming out nicely, and Sora was definitely a bleeder, but he was taking the tattoo a lot better than he had before. Though, he was still silently crying and twitching underneath the needle. Not that Axel could blame him; solid tattoos hurt like a bitch. Finally, after working late into the night to get the tattoo done in one sitting, Axel was finished. It was almost midnight, the shop was clearing out, and Reno was sending his last customer home when Axel started to wipe off the excess ink from the small of Sora's back. The black smeared against his skin, which was stinking bright red from the rigorous tattooing.

Axel set his tattoo gun down on the table and leaned back, satisfied. “I did a good job, if I do say so myself.”

Sora got up slowly, pushing himself up with his arms. He wiped his face before he scurried over to a large mirror that was hanging on the wall by the door to the office, back facing it while he held up his shirt and looked over his shoulder. Roxas stood up to join him, inspecting the all black tattoo. He nodded in satisfaction. “It looks good, Sora. The line work is perfect.” He glanced over to Axel with a smile before he turned back to the tattoo, and he completely missed the way Axel's face turned red at the compliment. “Do you like it?”

Sora went to jump, but stopped halfway with a wince. “Yeah, it's perfect! No one will ever know that I got that _awful_ tattoo, thank god. As long as you don't tell them, _Roxas_.” He threw Roxas a narrowed look.

Roxas put two fingers in the air and a hand over his heart. “Scout's honor.”

After that, they paid and left. Axel was sure that he wouldn't see Roxas again, because Roxas didn't seem like the type to come back in for himself. Not that Axel was disappointed or anything. And he _definitely_ didn't want Roxas's number before he left. Axel was straight. One hundred and eight percent straight. And Roxas- he didn't know Roxas. Not at all. It was all sex appeal, and that was it. He'd be over it in a week, and he'd never see Roxas again.

He was wrong.

The second time Roxas came into the shop was for himself. The shop had just opened up for the day, and Reno was working on a piercing in the back room while Axel watched the front of the shop. The other artists wouldn't be in work until later, because they worked the heavy hours when people wanted late day and night tattoos. Axel was in a bad mood that morning, and all he wanted to do was read about the Royal Baby and the celebrity drama. The bell rang, meaning that someone opened the front door, but Axel didn't look up from the magazine he was reading on the counter. He just grunted and said, “Welcome to Red Voodoo. What can I set you up with today?”

“I need a portrait done.”

Axel looked up then, because he'd recognize that smooth voice anywhere. Roxas was alone that day, with no crying idiot being dragged behind him. He was rubbing his arms, trying to heat up from the cold weather outside, and for some reason he'd decided not to wear a jacket. He had brown Uggs on, tight jeans, and a _Fatal_ shirt with an attractive and extremely sexual woman on it. Which probably meant that Roxas was straight.

Axel cleared his throat and held out his hand to see the picture that Roxas had brought in. Roxas placed it into his open palm gracefully, and Axel looked over the portrait for a long while, taking in all the lines and curves that went along with the woman in it. No doubt, she was related to Roxas. She had the same blue eyes, blonde hair and shady look on her face. After about thirty seconds, Axel nodded and handed the picture back before saying, “You're going to want Leon to do it. He does the best portraits out of the staff- hell, the best tattoos in general. He's pricey, though. If you don't mind that, I can make an appointment for you tonight.”

Roxas smiled. “That's perfect. Can we go for six? I have a meeting this afternoon and it'll run late.”

That caught Axel's attention. It never occurred to him that Roxas would have a job. If anything, he figured that Roxas was a college student. “Six is fine. What do you do? For a job, I mean.”

The smile turned into more of a smirk. Roxas put his hands into the back pocket of his jeans, flexing his back and rolling his shoulders slightly. “My brother and I own a business together. I'll see you at six, Axel.”

He knew his name.

_Roxas knew his name_.

Axel watched in a sort of awe as Roxas exited the shop, the bell dinging behind him as he walked away. For the rest of the day, Axel was still in awe, all because Roxas knew his name. He didn't think that he would care enough to remember it, but yet he had heard it, and god, was it amazing coming out of Roxas's mouth. His voice was perfect, and Axel wondered what other sounds he could make, but cut the thoughts off as soon as they occurred to him. He didn't need to be thinking like that.

When six came around, Axel was on the edge of his seat. He'd waited all day for Roxas to come back in, not that he'd ever admit that. Leon, who had the appointment with Roxas, was late. Coincidentally, so was Roxas, and the two arrived at the same exact time, meeting at the door. Like a gentleman, Leon held the door open for Roxas to walk in, and Roxas gave him a curt nod before walking to Axel who was still manning the front.

“Welcome back,” Axel grinned at him, chest all fluttery and light. “I missed you.”

“Well, aren't you sweet,” Roxas patted his hand in a friendly manner, but the contact left fire on Axel's skin.

His face heated up and he quickly covered it up with a cough and a gesture towards Leon. “This, uh- this is Leon. He's our residential realism artist. Leon, this is your six o'clock.”

Leon was a tall, gruff man with a large scar on his face, and a white v-neck underneath a black bomber's jacket. He shook Roxas's hand, strong and slender hand squeezing Roxas's much smaller one. His voice was a deep, “It's nice to meet you. Do you have a picture?”

Roxas pulled the picture out of his satchel, which he'd had tucked into a large book that looked a lot like a bible. He handed it to Leon, who looked the picture over with a blank face, and then handed it back with a grunt. “Placement?”

Roxas held out his left arm, showing the skin of his forearm and tracing a circle with his finger. “I figured right here, with some words underneath. You know, some rest in peace crap.”

Leon nodded, taking Roxas's forearm and looking it over. Axel didn't like the fact that Leon was touching him, but he didn't say anything because Leon is actually a very scary person who would probably poison Axel's food if he pissed him off. After looking him over, Leon released Roxas's arm and nodded his head towards the drawing room. Roxas followed him to the back, and Leon closed the door to the drawing room, leaving Axel out to sulk.

Reno came in from his break ten minutes later, and Axel was till sulking behind the counter. Reno threw him an odd look before shrugging it off and throwing a Wendy's bag on the counter. “I got you some dinner, bro. What's up your ass?”

“Shut up.” Axel snatched the bag, digging in to get a handful of fries. “Where's the vampire?”

Reno tutted. “Taking care of business. We had rent due today, you know. And bills. Speaking of which, where's our money maker? He have a customer?”

Axel jerked his chin in the direction of the drawing room, Leon and Roxas hidden inside. “Yeah. That guy who came in a few weeks ago with that crying tramp stamp kid is in for a portrait.”

Reno laughed. “The one you want to fuck?”

Axel threw his handful of fries at him. “Shut up, Reno! That's not true. I'm not even gay.”

Reno shrugged and walked away. “Shit happens, man.”

Shit happens. Yeah, that's true, but that doesn't really count for sexuality, right? It's not like Axel was suddenly gay because of this one kid. After all, that kind of stuff only happened in porn and fan fiction.

When Leon and Roxas moved from the drawing room to Leon's workspace, a freshly drawn sketch in Leon's hand, Axel was a bit anxious. He wasn't sure why, but he was. Leon led Roxas to his workspace, having him sit in the chair at Leon's office space, by the window. Luckily for Axel, the space was right across from the front desk.

Once the stencil was on Roxas's pale skin, Leon got to work. The buzzing from the tattoo machine was loud, keeping Axel's focus as if he'd never heard one before. He was fascinated by the way the dark ink sat on Roxas's skin, smearing when Leon wiped at it. He didn't bleed, which was a surprise to Axel because he'd just assumed that Roxas would be a bleeder. He also didn't wince, and used his free hand to text on his phone. He's calm and collected the whole time, and the tattoo takes a _long_ time just to get through the outline.

Roxas was lucky enough to get his ink done by Leon. As far as Axel was concerned, Leon was the best artist in the shop, but according to his rival Seifer, that was debatable. Hands down, Leon had the best line art that Axel had ever seen. He trusted Leon completely not to fuck up Roxas's tattoo and ruin the look of his beautiful skin.

When the outlines done, Leon wipes away the stray ink and makes sure he's connected all the lines.

Roxas looked it over before Leon started shading it in.

“My brother's gonna be stoked,” Roxas said absently, going back to his phone.

Leon raised an eyebrow, but didn't look up from his work. “Why would he be stoked?”

Roxas rolled his eyes, letting out a slightly irritated sigh. “He's been wanting me to get _something_ to respect our mother. I wouldn't have gotten this if he hadn't kept bitching.”

Leon dipped the tip of his needle into black ink. He turned back to Roxas and continued his work. “I'm guessing you and your mother didn't have a very good relationship.”

Roxas laughed bitterly, setting his phone on the arm rest of the chair and crossing his legs. “Yeah. She didn't exactly agree with my lifestyle.”

Axel perked up then. His lifestyle? That could mean many things. Maybe he had a job that she didn't like. Maybe he had a weird fetish. Maybe he killed a man and she didn't accept it. The only thing that it could possibly mean that would actually make sense was that Roxas was actually gay. A rush of relief hit Axel, and then immediately followed was panic because he shouldn't be _relieved_ that Roxas was (possibly) gay.

In that moment, Axel was confused with his sexuality.

It took hours before Roxas's tattoo was finished, but the end result was beautiful. As expected of Leon, who was the shop 'money maker' as far as Reno was concerned. Roxas got up from the chair and was directed towards the full length mirror at the other side of the shop to check it out. Axel could see his face in the reflection of the mirror, eyes wide with awe. For the first time, he saw real emotion on Roxas's face. Excitement, approval, even surprise crossed his face as he looked over the new black ink that was now on his skin. The image of his mother looked exactly the same as it did in the photo, from every eyelash right down to every strand of her fine hair. Under it were the words _Rest in Peace_ , written in a curving portrait as well as what Axel assumed the be the date of her death.

Leon was cleaning up his workspace and putting his tattoo machine back into it's case. He asked, “How does it look?”

“Amazing,” Roxas breathed out. He turned back to Leon and proceeded to walk back over to him for a handshake. As he walked, he spoke, “Thank you. Thank you _so_ much. This is way better than I thought it would be.”

“Yeah. Let's get you wrapped up and on your way.”

Saran wrapped up and after another round of thank you's, Roxas went to the register to pay. Axel used that time to get a better look at the tattoo, and it was Leon's best work yet. It was possible that it was only because the canvas he used (and by canvas, he means Roxas) was also the finest yet. Roxas smiled at him, drawing Axel's attention away from the new ink to admire his face. “Nice, huh?”

“Very,” was all that Axel could think to say, brain suddenly dead and mouth very dry.

Roxas pulled his wallet out of his bag, one that doubles as a wallet as well as a case for a phone, and pulls out the payment in fifties. It occurred to Axel that Roxas had a job- and from what he saw from his short glance into the sparkly black wallet, a well paying one. When he handed Axel the money, Axel also got a look at the ring he wore that had the same logo engraved into the silver as the shirt he'd been wearing the last time he'd been in.

Roxas tucked his wallet back into his bag, and then went to leave before gracefully turning back to Axel. “I almost forgot. I need an appointment for two, for the twelfth. It's my brother's birthday, and I promised him we'd get matching zodiac signs.” Roxas finished up with a roll of his eyes, but a small smile. “Is that doable?”

Axel looked over the schedule on the desk, next to the appointment sheet. “Yeah, yeah I'll write you two down for three with Leon and... Reno is working that day. That good?”

Roxas raised an eyebrow. “You aren't working that day?”

Did he want Axel to work on him? Axel didn't show his excitement. “Uh, well I am- I work every day but Sundays. I just do coverups, though. I'm mostly here to man the front desk and set up appointments.”

Roxas frowned. “Oh.” An awkward silence followed after that, only broken by the sound of Roxas tapping one finger on the counter and the sound of Leon talking to someone in one of the back rooms. Suddenly, Roxas slapped the counter twice and said, “Alright. Well. See you on the twelfth, Axel.”

Axel failed to ask him for his number again.

August twelve didn't come fast enough. When it did finally come up on Axel's calender, which he'd had highlighted and marked as the day Roxas would come in, Axel was ecstatic. He woke up to open up the shop for the day, shaky and over excited. He blamed the coffee he'd chugged for that, and definitely not the fact that he's going to see Roxas again.

As usual, Leon was in early, carrying a tray of Starbucks with him. By then, he knew what Axel and Reno wanted, handing Axel his caramel frap and bringing Reno's latte to his office. Seifer came in late, which is something that Axel had long since gotten used to. Larxene was even later, which again, he'd expected. At least they were all in the shop at once, because within the last few months it had become a rarity to have all five of the artists working at the same time. Mostly because they'd lost a lot of business to the new tattoo shop around the corner, but also because Larxene and Seifer both worked off of appointment only.

The shop was alive with the buzzing of machines all day, as Larxene worked on a set of twins who wanted matching rib tattoos and Seifer worked on a full back portrait. Leon spent most of the day cleaning while Reno slept in the back. Axel was too giddy to do anything but sit at the front desk and tap his fingers rhythmically against the counter. The coffee that Leon had brought didn't help.

Roxas came in with his brother ten minutes before the scheduled appointment. They could be heard down the block, where they'd parked, because as they walked they were engaged in a very heated argument. Roxas was the first to come in, holding the door open for his brother while he said some obscenities to him. Axel perked up at the sight of his schoolboy crush.

His brother came in moments later, wearing sunglasses and a scowl as he said some curses to his brother under his breath, which Axel didn't quite catch save for the word “cumface”. Roxas's brother glared around the shop from behind the shades, Roxas following after him as they strolled through the lobby, the door falling closed behind him.

“Hey, stranger.” Roxas leaned on the counter, looking tired and irritated but nonetheless smiling at Axel. “We're here for our appointment.”

Axel bit down his excitement. The last thing he wanted to do was lead on that he was questioning his sexuality for this guy. Calm and aloof, he told himself. Don't be too desperate, Axel. _Don't let him know that you're thinking about his cute butt_. He checked off Roxas's name on the appointment sheet, then directed him towards the waiting area. “They'll be with you in a second.”

Roxas winked before turning to his brother, who was already sitting down in one of the cushioned seats that were pushed up against the wall. He picked up one of the albums that they had out on a nightstand, full of pictures of the work done by the artists in the shop. Roxas sat next to him and crossed his arms, leaning down in his seat and crossing one of his legs over the other. He shook his foot uneasily. His brother leaned in and muttered something to him before pointing to a picture in the photo album. Then Roxas laughed and his brother closed the book, crudely tossing it back onto the table.

Leon and Reno joined them in the front room a few minutes later, and Roxas stood to greet them. His brother took a hint and stood after him, looking out of place and very disgruntled. While Roxas shook the artists' hands, his brother checked his phone. No fucks were given by him that day.

Then Roxas introduced him to the artists, waving a hand to present his brother. “This is my older brother, Cloud. Cloud, this is Reno and Leon. Leon's the one who did my portrait.”

Cloud smiled then, finally showing interest as he shoved his phone back into his back pocket with his left hand and used his right to reach forward and shake Leon's hand. His grip was a lot stronger than Leon had expected, giving him a firm handshake. Cloud said, “Hey, it's nice to meet you. My brother's tattoo came out good as hell.”

He didn't shake Reno's hand.

Roxas dug into his satchel to pull out two folded pieces of printer paper, handing one to each artist. Printed off onto the papers were two zodiac signs, one Leo which Reno held, and one Aquarius that Leon was looking over. Roxas explained, “We just want to get our Zodiac signs on our right wrists. Exactly the way they are in the pictures.”

The print offs were simply the signs, the lines thick and black. Axel had never seen the use of Zodiac signs, but he totally loved that Roxas was into them.

The brother's were split up among the two artists, Roxas with an appointment with Leon, and Reno with Cloud. Cloud wasn't having it.

“I want Leon to do mine,” he voiced, causing the others to look at him. There was a long silence that followed, while Reno looked genuinely insulted and Leon quite impressed, but Roxas just sighed with a look that suggested that there was no point in even arguing. He just rolled his eyes and nodded.

Cloud was satisfied with that, and followed Leon to the drawing room. Before he followed Reno, Roxas looked back and gave Axel a look of exasperation and said, “He _always_ get's his way. I don't even argue anymore.”

The drawing didn't take long, and a bit later the brothers came back out for their ink.

Cloud already had several visible tattoos. On the curve of his right thumb and index finger, he had the tattoo of a small, red rose. Even though it was small, it was incredibly detailed with the lines of each peddle varying in size. The flower was filled in with a deep red, and the stem that curled onto the side of his thumb was green with shadowed in thorns. Then, on the side of the same hand along the side of his palm and piny was the simple phrase _born to die_ in black cursive, no uppercase letters. On his left hand, he had _Fuck you_ inked along the side of his middle finger, which seemed to be done with a lot less skill than the others.When he shrugged off his jacket, throwing it to Roxas to put up, Axel could see that he had a sleeve of tattoos on his right arm in a beautiful collage of red, green and blue. The sleeve had the theme of death, from what Axel could see, but the images were somehow pleasant. He could already tell that it said a lot about Cloud's character when his tattoos of dying girls and boys alike were accented with bright colors and big eyes, in a new school type of style. They were so amazingly done that Axel was almost jealous, and wondered briefly where he'd gotten them done but decided against asking. The tattoo that caught his eye the most was the portrait on his left forearm, mirroring the one Roxas had gotten a few weeks before, of the same woman but a different pose and the word _Mom_ above the portrait in cursive, and underneath in the same font the date of her birth and the date of her death. It was only about a year before.

Roxas sat in the chair at Reno's station, which was next to Leon's by the window. Cloud sat at Leon's. Then Cloud winked at him and they both set their arms out on the arm rests, ready for their stencils to be placed on.

There was the collective snap of rubber on skin while Reno and Leon both pulled on their black rubber gloves. Then came out the machines, and the two spent time on adjusting the tattoo guns and setting out the black ink. Then they put the stencils on the pale skin of the boys' pale wrists.

And then the tattooing started. It was a simple job, starting with an outline, which took a short amount of time. Neither of them flinched, and neither of them seemed affected at all by the fact that they were both getting stabbed repeatedly with a small needle. Cloud periodically pulled his phone out to reply to texts, while Roxas read a book with his free hand. After an hour, Cloud got bored. Leon was then filling the outline of the Leo sign, and he took a moment to wipe away some of the stray ink.

“So,” Cloud said, leaning his head onto his free hand. “Leon. Short for anything? Leonard, maybe?”

“No.”

“That's your whole first name?”

“No.”

Cloud laughed then, and Roxas gave him a warning look before returning his eyes to his book. Cloud asked, “Then what is it?”

Leon paused, stopping the tattoo gun so that the only other sound was the buzzing of Reno's machine. Cloud watched him with a look of interest, waiting for his answer.

Leon started the tattoo again. “Squall.”

“What was that?” Cloud leaned in a bit, more or less to see Leon's reaction.

Leon sighed. “My first name is Squall. My last name is Leonhart. As you can imagine, I didn't want to go through my life with the name _Squall_.”

Cloud's smile grew wider, and he sat back again. “Squall. I like that.”

And just like that, Leon was smiling back.

They were done a short time later. Roxas's skin stung a bright red, while Cloud's was turning pink around the ink. The two artists wiped the rest of the excess ink off before they let the two brothers up to look at their new tattoos. Cloud automatically walked over to Roxas, who was putting his book into his bag. “Did it hurt?”

Roxas shrugged, holding up his wrist to examine. “No. The other one hurt like a bitch, but this one was fine. Thank you, Reno.”

Reno was cleaning up his station and gave a grunt. Leon had already finished cleaning, and went to wrap up the boys' new ink. Axel didn't miss the way his hands lingered on Cloud's wrists, and the way the two made eye contact before he stepped away and wrapped up Roxas's. There were no lingering touches with him, which Axel was grateful for.

Of course, he was still straight. There was just something special about Roxas.

Axel spent the next three months waiting for Roxas to come in again. Actually, he craved it, and every day when he closed up shop without a sign of the blond was a disappointment and like a punch in the face to him. He asked himself why the hell he wanted to see him so badly. At this point, he couldn’t even deny that he may actually like Roxas, despite the fact that he had a penis underneath his criminally fitted jeans. It had to just be infatuation, because Axel had only loved one person his whole life, and she was undoubtedly female. He was straight. So fucking straight, yet here he was with a major school boy crush on a client who he knew nothing about.

But what is sexuality, anyway?

It was the fourth time when Roxas came into the shop that Axel realized he was in love.

It was a dead day, the first day in months that they weren't booked solid. Part of the reason was because of the blizzard going on outside, having caused many people who commute to their shop from surrounding cities to have to cancel their appointments. Axel had taken to eating a copious amount of chocolate, which was set out in a decorative bowl for customers, but as far as he could see there were no customers coming in when the streets were covered in six inches of snow and ice. Leon was sitting in one of the waiting chairs, reading a book on the evolution of Veganism. Larxene laid across the other two chairs, legs propped up with her shoeless feet on the wall and her head in Leon's lap while she played a game on her phone. In the back, Seifer was finishing a tattoo that he'd started on his own leg a month before, but had never had time to finish. God knows where Reno was, but by the way he'd dressed when coming to work that morning, Axel was willing to bet that he'd blown off work for a lunch date with his secret girlfriend.

Axel was falling asleep at the front desk, leaning his face into his hand with his elbow on the table, when the front door rang and Roxas walked in. His faux fur boots had snow clumped in them, and he kicked most of it off at the welcome mat. He pulled off a black scarf with a matching beanie and hung them up on the coat rack. Next, he pulled off his big, poofy snow coat and set it over the knits. He stuffed his gloves into his satchel, now only wearing a tight long sleeve shirt. The black material hugged his body and Axel had to look away.

Roxas let out a sigh. “Oh man, it's so warm in here. Hey, guys.”

There was a monotone sound of greeting from the two in the corner, but Axel didn't say anything out of fear of his voice cracking. Roxas stretched over the counter next to Axel, letting out another sign as he cracked his back. His face was flushed and ears red from the cold outside. Standing up straight again, he tapped his fingers against the counter top and Axel tried to look at anything but his amazing fingers and the way they looked like they'd give the most delicate hand jobs. Axel shoved that thought out of his head immediately.

“Wow, you guys sure are lively today,” Roxas humored, taking a mini Hershey's bar out of the bowl and slowly pulling the wrapper off. Axel was focusing on his fingers again, and he watched as Roxas took half a bite of the chocolate, leaning over the counter sideways with a hand on his hip. He licked his teeth. “I need a coverup, Axel. Are you free?”

Axel swallowed down a lump that had lodged itself into his throat. “Yeah, Roxas. I always have time for you.”

_Too desperate_ , he scolded himself, but if Roxas noticed he didn't lead on. He just smiled those straight, bright teeth and knocked on the counter. 

“Great. I'd like to do it in that back room you took Sora in- it's kind of personal, and I have to take my shirt off for you to do it,” he explains, and Axel isn't sure if he's happy or upset over this development. Happy because fuck yes he gets to see Roxas without his shirt on. Upset because fuck no he gets to see Roxas without his shirt on. In a back room. Alone. At least hiding the boner he's definitely going to get won't be too hard if they're alone.

Axel nodded, showing his understanding before saying, “Alright, follow me.”

“Get that ass, boy,” Larxene muttered from the corner, making Leon snort above her. Axel barely spared them a glare as he passed.

He led Roxas to the back room, the same back room that they sat in the first time they a few months before. The room was warm, despite the windows being frosted over. Roxas had his back to him as he pulled out the design he'd chosen from his back. It was a butterfly, shaded in around the large wings with colored pencils. The wings went from purple at the tips to black at the base of the body. Without warning, he pulled off his shirt, revealing his smooth white back to Axel. He almost looked away, but this was all business.

Roxas had one tattoo on his back, on his left shoulder blade. It was a name, in a blue-green cursive of the standard tattoo color. It was well done, and it seemed to have been important at some point. Why else would Roxas get a name tattooed on himself? Axel almost hoped that it was an accident, and that he'd gotten it under the same circumstances as Sora had gotten his, but the chances of that were slim.

Roxas didn't look back at him, speaking as he folded his shirt neatly. “I need my ex's name covered. Can you do that?”

He turned and handed Axel the sketch before he turned back around to show him the tattoo. His fair skin would have been completely unmarked if it wasn't for this one tattoo. The dark ink in contrast to the paleness of his back, which was due to the lack of sun they get in this part of the planet, made his skin look that much better.

Roxas went on, “I don't know how dark you'd have to make it, or as big, but I'm willing to go with anything as long as you cover it up.”

Axel took a deep breath, calming himself. He held the drawing up to the tattoo on Roxas's back for a size comparison. As he thought, he'd have to make the wing span bigger. He used his fingers to measure it out, and that was the first time he touched Roxas. His stomach dropped, but in a almost pleasant way. He covered up his stutter with a cough, “Uh, yeah we're gonna have to make it bigger.”

Roxas nodded. “Alright.”

“I'll-,” he paused, remembered that he should mark how big he needed it. Axel reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen, holding the paper up again to mark how big the tattoo already was. It was roughly three inches across and half an inch up. He cleared his through. “I'll draw this up. Wait here, and I'll be right back.”

Roxas nodded and sat on the flat tattoo bench to wait. Axel left then, walking out of the room with his heart racing. Luckily, the drawing room was right next to the private room, so he didn't have to pass Leon and Larxene to get there. They'd never let him live down the look on his face in that moment.

He drew the design as delicately as possible. He couldn't mes up on Roxas's tattoo. This was the most important tattoo of his career, as far as he was concerned. He marked where Roxas wanted the colors, and added detail to the wings. He added lines in certain places and shading up to the middle of the wings to cover up the ink that would be underneath. Carefully, he drew the antennas into a curl, just like in the picture. When he was done, he looked it over again to make sure that everything was perfect, and dubbing it to be exactly how he wanted it, he left the room to go back to the one he'd left Roxas in.

Roxas was filing his nails when Axel returned, sitting on the bench. His shirt was still off, and he was sitting Indian style while he checked out his nails. He looked back up at Axel when he walked in, and smiled. “Welcome back.”

“Sorry for the wait,” Axel said, closing the door behind him. “It had to be perfect.”

Roxas laughed lightly, placing the nail file into his back. “You're sweet on me.”

He stood up so that Axel could place the stencil on his back, rubbing the side of his hand so that all of the outline was all on there. He handed Roxas a hand mirror, and directed him towards the full body mirror on the wall so that he could check it out. Roxas inspected it for a long moment, and Axel was nervous while he waited for his approval. After almost a whole minute, Roxas smiled again and turned back to Axel. “It's perfect. Let's do this.”

Axel was ecstatic, but he didn't show it. He had Roxas lay down on his stomach on the the bench, giving him full access to the tattoo area. He placed out his gun, the ink, and pulled back his hair before snapping on some gloves. Then he was dipping the needle into the black ink he was using for the outline and asked, “Are you ready?”

Roxas had a tight grip on the head of the bench. He didn't answer verbally, but he nodded. When he heard the tattoo gun start, he braced himself, body tensed up in anticipation. Axel hoped that he could hide how aroused he was from having Roxas under his machine like this, body so close and so perfect. He hoped that Roxas didn't notice the way his breathing had gotten faster. He took a deep breath, focusing on anything but the warmth of Roxas's back that his hands were currently touching. He wanted to just put down the machine, pull off his gloves and run his hands all up Roxas's back, but that was a lawsuit waiting to happen.

_Focus, Axel._

He started the line work, the ink dark black to blend with the purple. He faded it in to where he'd add the purple, and then shaded along the body, filling it in with black. He made wing lines to make the butterfly look more realistic, but he'd never been the best realism artist so he kept it basic. For the first time, Axel actually saw Roxas in pain from a tattoo. He gripped the seat tighter, knuckles whiter than usual. By the way his jaw was set, Axel could tell that he was gritting his teeth. He could also feel the way Roxas seemed to tighten his back under the needle, a very common reaction for people when they go under the needle. As common as it is, however, it seemed strange on Roxas, who Axel had only seen grunt to the pain.

He paused, wiping away at the ink. He'd just finished the line work and looked over to the set up of the colored ink. The purple was prominent in its small container, next to the white and black ink that was also set out. He looked back to Roxas, who was staring at a spot on the wall with his arms crossed underneath his chin.

Axel asked, “You good?”

Roxas let out a short, dry chuckle. “I feel like I'm sixteen again. In some guy's garage, getting my first tattoo.”

“Oh.” Axel pulled on the ends of his gloves and snapped the rubber against his wrists again before picking the machine back up. “First tattoo story?”

He started the tattoo again, dipping he needle into the purple for the fill. Roxas braced again, but was a lot more relaxed this time. Wincing, he adjusted his position when Axel went for more ink. “Yeah. I got a pelvic tattoo when I was a junior in high school. Worst decision of my life. I had to hide it from my folks- they found it, of course. Flipped shit. By then, Cloud had already gotten a 'Fuck You' tattoo and waved it at our parents, so when they found out about the brass knuckles I got on myself, they were livid.”

Axel laughed, taking the needle away for more ink. “Brass knuckles? Really?”

Roxas shrugged, smiling lightly. “I went through a hardcore phase my junior year. It was badly done, too. I had it removed when I moved out here, it was bad for my first job.”

“So, you came out here for a job,” Axel observed. It was the perfect opportunity to find out things about Roxas. At the moment, Axel knew nothing about him. “What job requires you to get a crotch tattoo removed?”

Roxas hesitated. “I did acting.”

“Anything I would know?”

“They were low budget films, so I doubt it. What about you? Did you move here, or did you grow up in this lovely little city?”

“Oh, I'm Hallow Bastion born and raised,” Axel said. “Me and Reno grew up in the ghetto by the edge of the city. Right where it meets Twilight town.”

“That's a pretty bad side of town.”

“That's why I'm so tough!”

Roxas smiled again. “I don't know, Axel. You look pretty soft to me.”

Axel blushed then, but if Roxas saw it he didn't lead on. Axel cleared his throat, coughing awkwardly before saying, “You're hardly one to call me soft. You look like a cute little middle school student.”

Roxas looked at him then, settling the side of his face into his arms. That smile was back, only this time it looked cunning and even more brilliant. When he spoke, his voice was low and edged with the hint of seduction. “Cute, huh? You better watch out, Axel. You may have to buy me a drink.”

It was then that Axel's heart skipped a beat. His heart actually skipped a beat, something that up until a few seconds before he'd thought was only a myth that lonely woman wrote into their romance novels and fan fiction. Yet, here he was, recovering from a unexpected skip in his heart beat, which caught him off guard enough that he stopped tattooing without thinking. Roxas was looking away again, and Axel covered up the sudden stop by dipping the needle in ink again. His face was heated up and wouldn't cool down, even with the deep breaths he was taking. He told himself that Roxas didn't mean anything by it. It was a simple joke. He didn't actually want Axel to buy him a drink, that would be insane. Besides that, it's not like Axel wanted to by him a drink anyway. Sure, he maybe had a little crush on the guy, but that would pass soon. It was just infatuation, he'd fallen into it before. It's not like he wanted to start a relationship with Roxas or anything.

That would just be... ridiculous.

Axel mentally reprimanded himself for not coming up with a better explanation as to why he wouldn't buy Roxas a drink. He was just ranting to himself, like a stubborn old man trying to deny his new found sexuality.

He looked for any sort of distraction. He found one when he turned his attention back onto the tattoo that he was supposed to be focusing on in the first place. His voice came out just the slightest bit strained, and he hoped that Roxas didn't catch on to it. “So, this tattoo I'm covering up.”

“Yup,” Roxas returned.

“Anyone special?” He realized how nosy he sounded then, and panicked. “I mean, if you don't mind me asking. I'm not trying to get into your business or anything, I just-!”

Roxas laughed and shook his head, burring his face into his arms with his forehead on his wrist. “It's fine. He's my ex boyfriend.”

Axel took a breath then. So, he was gay. “He must have been a real dick if you want to get his name covered up.”

“He was. He was the worst.” Roxas paused for a moment. “He wasn't at first, though. He was actually really nice. That's why we started dating.”

Axel wondered briefly what Roxas's standard were. If he was into dating nice guys, then Axel definitely was his type. “Was he an old ex? Or is this new damage?”

“We broke up two years ago, I just never got the tattoo covered or removed. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I woke up yesterday, though, and I took a shower like I do every morning, and when I got out I caught a glimpse of the tattoo in the mirror, and I just... I didn't want it anymore. I couldn't have it. So, I came in today. I had Cloud draw up that butterfly for me before I came in. He designs all of our tattoos, except for the portraits we got for our mom. Anyway, it felt like time to get it covered.”

A long silence followed. Axel knew exactly what it was like to not be able to bring himself to get a name covered up. It took him over a year to work himself up to cover up _her_ name, and he felt horrible after it for a long time. That's just the aftermath of being in love and having your heart ripped out because of it.

Axel was the one to break the silence. “You must have really loved him.”

There was a choked off sob as Roxas nodded, face still hidden in his arms. “I did. I loved him so much.”

Axel set the gun down next to the ink and pulled off one of his gloves. Sympathetically, he rubbed Roxas's back, which shook with every sob. Roxas didn't make much noise, save for the small gasps and the occasional whine. Axel tried his best to comfort, but he'd never been the best at that sort of thing. He kept his voice low, muttering to Roxas that he'd be okay, and that he could cry all he wanted. When Roxas was done a short time later, he sat up on his elbows and wiped his face before settling on his forearms. Axel handed him tissue from the box next to his tattoo machine, and Roxas nodded gratefully and took it to wipe his face and nose. Red eyed, he kept a grip on the tissue. Then, surprisingly, he smiled at Axel.

And that was it. His heart skipped again, his face heated up, and his mouth parted so that he could take a breath.

Axel was in love.

“Sorry,” Roxas said sheepishly, tossing the wad of tissue at the nearest trashcan. The tissue made it in flawlessly. “I get really emotional sometimes. Thanks.”

Axel pulled his glove back on, looking at Anything but Roxas. “No problem. Crying is good. Alright, let's finish this bad boy up.”

It took awhile for him to finish filling it. The purple looked nice on Roxas's skin, and covered up the ink underneath perfectly. He highlighted places with white, darkening certain spots to keep it from hinting at the hidden ink, refined the lines inside the wings. He added the small designs on the wings, working gently and slowly as to not mess up. When he finished, wiping away the last of the stray ink, Axel sat back to admire his work.

“Yup. This is one of my best works yet.”

Roxas looked up. “Is it done?”

Axel reached over to pick up a hand mirror. “Yeah. Here, go check it out.”

Roxas hesitantly took the mirror and hopped down from the tattoo bed. He walked to the tall mirror on the wall and turned so that his back was facing it. Using the mirror to look at the fresh tattoo. His skin stung, red around the dark ink. He took a deep breath when he saw the new butterfly, eyes brimming with tears again. He wiped at his cheek quickly when a stray tear fell, and laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, I'm not trying to cry again. It looks great.”

He handed the mirror back to Axel who set it back down by the gun and pulled off his gloves. “You like it. That's good.” He looked away from Roxas's bare chest. “I'm glad you like it.”

Axel wrapped it up so that Roxas could pull on his shirt. He smoothed out the black fabric, stretching his back and then wincing from the pain of his new ink. Roxas laughed, stretching a different way. “This is going to take a long time to heal, isn't it?” He grabbed his bag, throwing it over his good shoulder. “The first one did.”

Axel nodded. “It'll take a quick minute.”

On their way out of the room and to the front desk, Axel tried to ignore the kissing noises that Larxene was making at him from the same stop he'd left her in. Leon had made significant progress in his book by then, and he didn't look up at them. Larxene hopped up when Axel passed by without acknowledging her, nearly knocking Leon's tea out of his hand. “Hey, Romeo!”

Axel muttered, “Fuck off, Larxene.” He really wasn't in the mood for her shit in that moment.

She followed him behind the counter, taking a handful of chocolate from the bowl. She watched closely when Roxas payed Axel, again in fifties. Roxas watched her back, slowly putting his wallet back into his bag. He looked back to Axel when he was handed his receipt. “Thanks, Axel. I'll see you around?”

Axel nodded, untying his hair and shaking it out into it's normal style. “Yeah. See you, Roxas.”

Roxas grabbed his jacket and winter accessory from the rack before walking out, choosing to put them on outside. The snow had stopped, but the sidewalk was covered in it now. Axel worried about him for a second, and wondered if he should escort him home, he decided against it, because he'd never hear the end of it from Larxene.

Larxene, who was now giving him a sly look.

He sighed, irritated with her already. “ _What_ , Larxene?”

“You look like you just found the answer to the universe,” she observed, ripping up a piece of chocolate wrapper.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” he asked defensively, taking a chocolate from her pile.

She wagged here eyebrows at him. “You like that kid, don't you?”

“He's not a _kid_ ,” Axel snapped at her. “He's probably like, twenty.”

She laughed loudly, throwing a wrapper at him. “ _Axel Turk_! You don't even know his _age_?! Jesus, you are the worst. Get out of here.”

He frowned, on the edge. “This is my workspace, Larxene. Go back to your boyfriend over there.”

She snorted, giving Leon a look from across the room. He glared back. “Please. He's gayer than your brother. Speaking of _gay_ , Axel, when are _you_ going to come out? We've all been waiting for it since that kid first came in.”

He sighed. This was getting tiresome. “I'm straight, Larxene.”

She smiled sweetly at him before turning away. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Axel.”

Axel sighed, watching her walk back to the break room. Probably to stuff her fat face, he thought bitterly. Larxene wasn't that bad usually, but when she got bored like she was that day, she was down right nasty. She found a sort of sick joy with making people feel angry, embarrassed, or sad. Axel was usually good at ignoring it, since her usual victim was Seifer, but since he was no where to be found she had all her focus on him.

At least she hadn't caught on to the fact that Axel was clearly coming down from a love high. He'd have to keep this a secret for as long as he could, if he wanted to keep them from using it as a weapon against him. They'd find out inevitably, but for now, he'd lie his ass off and keep them of the trail for as long as he could.

He'd keep this stupid love thing on a leash.

And he'd definitely never let himself be alone with Roxas again.

Of course, that's a lot easier said then done. 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next two months since Roxas had come in for that last tattoo, Axel found himself not only thinking about the customer on a daily basis, but also wondering just what Roxas did for income. Clearly, he had a well paying job, with his designer clothes and fifty dollar bills. Besides that, his brother seemed to also be well off. Axel wondered if the pair worked together, or if one lived off of the income of the other, or if they had rich parents who they mooched off of. They did give the vibe of spoiled rich kids.

Axel wasn't the only one in the shop who had wondered. Larxene was the one who brought the subject up one day, during her lunch break that she shared with Axel and Leon. She turned her microwaved burrito between her hands, which are covered in small tattoos. Her left hand has a different type of flower on each finger, with a rose on her index, then on the other three fingers a daisy, a posy and a daffodil. The right hand respectively had symbols, with a dream catcher, an anchor, a thin cross and a diamond. On both hands, she had a heart on the thumb, and the back of both were tattooed with detailed butterfly wings. She had rings on, with golden mid rings and diamonds. Larxene's best quality had always been her hands, even though the rest of her wasn't bad, either.

Thoughtfully, she set the burrito down on the table. “Axel, do you remember that twink boy that came in a few times? The one who had that hunk of a brother-,” Leon looked at her then, and she went on, “What does that kid do?”

Of course, Axel knew exactly who she was talking about, and he couldn't say that he was surprised that she had already forgotten Roxas's name. Axel looked away from her, down to his lunch, and said, “He's not a _kid_. And I don't know.”

Larxene leans back in her chair, setting it on it's two back legs with her feet on the table. She'd taken her shoes off at the door of the break room, and was now barefoot. Her toes are perfectly manicured, and she has a black scorpion tattooed on her left foot, the tail trailing up to her ankle. She takes a large bite of her burrito, talking with her mouth full, “He looks _loaded_. What's his name, anyway? And his brother- I wouldn't mind getting his number. Rich blonde boys are my type.”

“I don't think you're _his_ type, Larxene,” Leon cut in, seemingly irritated with the whole conversation. “He didn't even look at you the whole time he was in here.”

Larxene rolled her eyes at him, throwing her burrito on the table in a fit. “I can _make_ him look at me, you prick. You may not have noticed, with your queer-goggles on, but I'm not exactly ugly, okay? If I put on the right shirt and pair of shorts, I can easily get him. So, fuck you.”

“Fuck _you_ ,” Leon returned, pissed off now. “You can't just wiggle your hips and get any guy you want. That's not how the world works, you dick. And furthermore-”

It went on like that for the rest of their lunch break. It definitely wasn't the first time Leon and Larxene got into an argument like that. In fact, half of their friendship was them arguing. That didn't keep them from hanging out with each other after work. If Axel observed them correctly over the last few years, he would say that the two are best friends. In fact, he'd actually thought the two were dating for awhile, until he found out that Leon didn't pitch for Larxene's team, and Larxene's type mostly included blondes and rich boys.

For the better part of the next month, the rest of the shop slowly got into the mystery of what Roxas (and his brother) did for a living. Larxene figured that Roxas had a rich sugar daddy who kept him well supplied. Seifer and Reno had come to a mutual agreement that the “business” Roxas and his brother own is actually an underground drug ring. Leon assumed that the two own a restaurant. Axel didn't know what he thought, but he knew that everyone else's guesses were wrong.

Reno was the one who found out what Roxas actually did. Everyone was going about their usual work day, and it was Reno's day off. Axel was manning the front desk, taking care of appointments and eating out of the complimentary chocolate bowl. Everyone else had appointments their last appointments of the day, and were finishing up on tattoos. Leon was in the back giving birthday nipple piercings to a newly turned eighteen year old and her friend. Larxene was finishing up on the last tattoo of the day, rubbing on tattoo goo to the bright red flesh. He handed the payment to Axel and was heading out the door right as Reno was walking in, his Macbook in his arm.

Everyone greeted him as they were putting on their normal clothes, Leon shrugging on his jacket and Larxene pulling on her snow boots. Reno threw his jacket off onto the counter, and pushing Axel over with his hip he set out his laptop and unlocked the screen.

“Okay,” he started, and everyone gathered around him. “You guys are going to think I'm so gross, but I don't care. I figured it out. I figured out what Roxas does.”

Everyone's interest was peaked, and they peered over his shoulder to watch the screen as Reno connected to the shops WiFi and opened his browser bookmarks. Then he opened a website, and everyone watched it load to a website called...

BlondeTwinks.com.

“Reno!” Larxene shrieked, covering her eyes and turning her back to him. “Oh my _god_!”

Leon sighed and turned to walk away. Seifer was laughing, putting a hand to his chest as he started to double over. Axel just groaned and rubbed his forehead. Reno turned red, and turned back to them defensively. “Hey! I'm serious, you guys _have_ to see this!”

Leon sighed again and came back behind the counter next to Larxene, who was repeating “ew” over and over as Reno pressed play on the video and opened it to full screen.

What they saw next would stick with them forever. The video opened up to a scene of a older teen sitting on a bed, in just his underwear. Axel quickly realized that he'd seen this boy before, just a few months earlier the first time he'd met Roxas. It was Roxas's friend Sora, who he had brought in for a tattoo cover up of a bad YOLO tattoo. Axel suddenly felt really uneasy, fully knowing that this was a porn video that had something to do with Roxas.

The audio was turned down, so he could just make out the sound of someone saying something to Sora, and then Sora's laughter as the camera got closer to his face. It trailed down his body to his underwear, where there was an outline of his man parts and a delicate hand that wasn't his resting on his thigh. The camera followed that hand up a thin arm, to a face that Axel knew too well.

Roxas looked much younger here, though Axel couldn't assume an age. He was looking up at the camera, a small smile on his face with his eyes half lidded. He was told something, and Reno turned up the volume just enough for them to catch Roxas saying, “What do you want me to do?”

The reply from an unknown voice was, “Touch him.” The voice from the cameraman was deep, raspy. It was full of what could only be called lust. He backed away to get both Roxas and Sora in the view of the camera, Roxas leaning on near Sora. He was wearing a shirt and underwear, more than Sora, and was sitting with his legs crossed. Sora had his legs thrown over the edge of the bed, and was smiling wide. Roxas's hands traveled higher up, then back down along Sora's thigh.

Then Roxas said, “Come here,” and the camera was set down on a surface to film without the camera man holding it. The back of the man came into view, walking towards the bed, hair corn rowed and pants baggy. He was muscular with tattoos inked into his dark arms. He stood in front of the bed, face unseen. Roxas took a hold of the man's hips, pulling him closer with his dick in his face behind the cloth of his jeans. Then, Roxas's fingers worked to undo the jeans, and he man pulled them down his hips himself, his erection bobbing in Roxas's face. Roxas was reaching up to touch it...

Axel slammed the laptop shut, and Larxene was screaming and covering her face again.

“Oh my god.” Axel covered his mouth, turning his back to the now closed laptop. He was aware that everyone was watching him now, but ignored them and slipped out from behind the counter to pace around the lobby of the shop. He needed a minute. He needed ten minutes. He spent ten minutes pacing in an oval, trying to comprehend what he'd just seen. Porn... yes, that was definitely porn.

After the ten minutes of everyone getting over their shock and chattering about the video they'd just seen, Reno cleared his throat and said, “That's not all. I decided to Google him, too. Turns out he and his brother are pretty famous in the porn industry.”

Reno opened his laptop back up and started to type things in. Axel reluctantly joined the rest of the tattoo artists behind the counter again, the group looking more uncomfortable this time around. The screen was opened up to Bing as Reno looked up Roxas and Cloud Strife. Some of the links were purple, meaning Reno had opened them up earlier. The links read different things, such as _Strife Bros. Storm the Industry_ , a link to a news article on a website called TwinkDaily. Another reads _Cloud Strife arrested in Radiant Garden's- again._ Reno opens the first link, opening it up to TwinkDaily.com.

The website opens up to the news article they'd gotten a preview to on the search engine. The article was surrounded by pictures of the Strife brothers, together in every one. Reno scrolled down the article and explained, “Okay, so basically these two are brothers- which we already know- who own a porn business. Like, I guess they moved here to get a fresh start, and Roxas ended up acting in low budget porn films.”

“What about Cloud?” Leon asks.

“Oh, dude, that's the weird thing. Cloud Strife is his _manager_. He got the porn gigs for Roxas, and was on set when his brother was getting fucked on camera. I know that they're close and all, but isn't that _weird_?”

“What's _weird_ is that you were on a gay porn website in the first place,” Leon says defensively. Defensive about what, they don't know.

Larxene nods in agreement. “Yeah, Reno. I mean, clearly we're not homophobic, but- well, is there something you need to tell us?”

“Oh, shut up. I knew I shouldn't have told you guys,” Reno grumbles, closing the website and opening the one about Cloud's arrest. “ _Anyway_ , so Cloud Strife is also a felon. One strike, a shit ton of DUI's, drug use, drug possession... Basically, these guys are bad news. They can't be trusted.”

They can't be trusted. Well, that's a given. Roxas had said he did low budget films when he first moved to Hallow Bastion, but Axel had assumed they were indie films and commercials. He felt lied to, to be completely honest. It's not that he cares about the porn. Everyone has a job, and if Roxas wants to have sex on camera for money, then power to him. Actually, Axel isn't sure what he's really mad for. He's come to terms with the fact that he's head over heels for Roxas, but that doesn't mean Roxas has to feel the same way about him. And clearly, Roxas doesn't. So, Axel doesn't have any right to be upset over something like this.

He just wished Roxas had been more truthful with him. He had thought they'd really connected when Axel did his tattoo. Clearly, he was wrong.

“So,” Reno sighed, closing the laptop, “Long story short, they moved here, Roxas did porn, his brother is his drug addict manager, and now they own a huge gay porn business. I'm going home to enjoy the rest of my day off.”

Reno leaves without another word, slamming the door shut behind him. Now, the shop empty with just the artists who were on work that day, they all stood in silence and processed the new information.

Larxene cut the silence by asking, “So, _none_ of us came up with the idea to just Google them in the first place?”

Seifer laughed and went to gather up his things from his station to go home. Larxene, Leon and Axel continued to stand together, Leon with his arms crossed and staring down at a spot on the ground, brow furrowed in thought. Axel had both of his hands on his hips as he thought over his life and his decisions up until this point.

He's in love with someone he'd be lucky to see every few months.

He's in love with someone who doesn't have any feelings towards him whatsoever.

He's in love with someone who does gay porn for a living- and keeps it a secret.

He only wishes he had a way to contact Roxas. He never got his number, and looking him up online for contact information would be weird, right? God, he wanted to see Roxas again. He wanted to talk to Roxas, but there's no way for him to. The only thing he was able to do was wait for Roxas to come to him.

At the start of spring, where the days were starting to finally get warm enough to not have to dress like an Eskimo and the sun was hidden behind rain clouds instead of clouds puffed with snow, Reno received a message on his business email that he had listed on the shop website.

An invitation, inviting all of the shop's artists to visit the Keyhole night club on the edge of town for a night of free drinks and VIP passes to the back rooms. The invitation is a thank you for their great service and skills, and is signed digitally by Roxas Strife, the co-owner of the club. Reno reads the email aloud to his coworkers, and a cheer breaks out among Seifer and Larxene as Seifer pumps his fist in the air and woots, “Party! Party!” while he takes a lap around the shop. Larxene starts talking fast about how “shit faced” she'll get off of the free booze. Leon laughs and leaves for a back room, and Reno runs a hand down his face and mutters about how bad it will be to get this group of people drunk together. Axel is taken over silently by a wave of excitement and anxiety at the idea of going to Roxas's club.

Reno replies their acceptance of the invitation, and the reply comes fast for a date and time. Saturday at nine.

The week following before the weekend is long. Everyone is in a slum, because all they can think about is the night of partying awaiting them. Even Leon, who usually kept the same cool composure and professional attitude, was tired of work and wanted Saturday to come just as fast as everyone else. Larxene spent most of her time in the shop sleeping, from boredom and irritation with the lack of fun. Axel had anxiety that whole week, and every time he thought about going to Roxas's bar and seeing Roxas again, his stomach hurt. For him, the week was going by too fast. He wanted to see Roxas again, there was no denying that, but he didn't feel ready yet.

By Saturday, Axel is worn out.

They all agree to meet at the shop and take Reno's car, and deem Reno to be the designated driver. Axel would volunteer, but the angry look on Reno's face when they tell him is too good to change. They all climb into Reno's car, filling every available seat. The small compact area smells like a mix of Larxene's perfume and the different colognes the men are wearing, the heater cranked up even though it's officially spring and it's just a bit warmer outside. The night club is far on the other side of the city, at the end of town where the city meets with the nice city it neighbors with. It takes a total of thirty-two minutes to get there.

The club's parking lot is full, people stumbling out in heels and dress shoes after having too many drinks, even this early in the night. The building is two stories and on the corner of a busy street. Outside, the lights are colored vibrant pinks and blues, lighting up the walls. Two large bouncers wearing neon yellow shirts with the club name stand by the door, cross armed and not letting anyone past the red velvet rope as people stand in a long line trying to get in, the line stretching past the building. People look on enviously as Larxene leads the group to the front, and says, “We're VIP. Roxas Strife invited us?”

One of them nods, and the other unlinks part of the rope to let them in, getting a loud chorus of dislike from the line as people ask why they're allowed in but not themselves. Larxene winks and blows them all a kiss before Leon guides her inside with a hand on her back.

Inside the club, walking through the hall that leads to the dance floor, they can hear the club music thumping against the walls and causing vibrations from the bass. The hall is lighted with the same colored lights as outside, the walls lined with art. The hall opens up to the dance floor, where people dance and rub against each other to the music, half of them drunk, the other half high. The lights flash overhead, a rainbow of neon colors that change with the bass. The dance floor is made of clear tile, underneath lit up with similar changing lights, forming in shapes and lines.Against the wall is the DJ, with an actual turn table and a fist in the air, jumping to her own music as people feel the beats and shout their encouragement to her with their drinks in the air. The ceiling is made entirely out of mirror, reflecting back the lights and people.

“This club is so nice,” Larxene shouts over the music, admiring the ceiling. “The nicest club I've ever been in!”

Leon scans the club, and his eyes land on the bar. The bar is shaped as half an oval around a bartender and a wall of liquor with a green light behind it, illuminating the bottles in color. The stools are mostly filled with already drunk club goers. Seifer disappears as soon as they get in, and attaches himself to a tipsy dark skinned girl in the middle of the floor, curled hair bobbing around her head as she laughs and dances with him. Reno looks bored, without the privilege of being able to drink and no one in sight that interests him.

Axel's anxiety is at it's peak as he looks around the club. He doesn't see Roxas anywhere, and the thought is disheartening.

Larxene and Leon get drinks and bring him one, a vodka on the rocks, which he drinks quickly and hands back to Larxene. She gives him a disgusted look at how fast he'd downed the drink, and he shrugs it off. He needs something to calm his nerves, and the burn of alcohol is the best substitute that he has at the moment. He gets another drink before he realizes that he really needs to see Roxas, as soon as possible, before he goes crazy waiting.

Larxene seems to catch on to his thoughts, and leans in so that he can hear her. “Are you okay? Worried about Roxas?”

“Yeah,” Axel admits, chewing on a piece of ice. “I'm making myself sick from thinking too much.”

She pats his shoulder. “You'll be fine. We'll run into him, the club is just packed and he's small. He wouldn't invite us and then ignore us.”

That's not what Axel was worried about. He was worried about what he'd say when he _does_ see Roxas, how he'll act and what he'll let slip. Axel doesn't trust himself around someone he has feelings for. Especially around someone he knows he shouldn't be in love with, but somehow he finds himself head over heels for, when he's only seen him a handful of times before.

Axel is starting to wonder if it would be a better idea to leave and move on with his life when he catches a flash of blonde hair, blue eyes and cigarette smoke.

Roxas, wearing a white t-shirt and dark, tight jeans, is standing in the smoking room under the dim light. He's talking to someone, laughing, and stubs out his cigarette and says his goodbye. Then he catches Axel's eye, so far away, and smiles with a light wave. Larxene grabs Axel's hands, and leads him around the outside of the dance floor towards him.

“Roxas!” she greets, and lets go of Axel's hand to hug Roxas, drink held up in one of her hands. “Oh my _god_ , this club is _so_ nice!” She looks around again for emphasis, taking another sip of her drink. It's her fourth one already.

Roxas's smile grows bigger, more polite. “I'm glad you like it. That's a pretty dress you're wearing.”

Larxene looks down and smooths out the skirt of her strapless black dress, forming to her body with shimmering fabric and glitter. Her black stiletto heels make her taller, and she towers over Roxas. “Thanks! It was on sale, I got it last week...” She goes on about where she'd gotten the dress, how much she'd spent, and how they had clothes for men that Roxas would like. Roxas nods along interestedly, and promises that he'll check the store out when he gets the chance. This satisfies Larxene, and finishing up her drink, she touches Axel's shoulder lightly and excuses herself to get a drink, leaving Axel and Roxas alone.

Roxas smells of cigarette smoke and vanilla, a strangely appealing mixture that has Axel wanting to lean in for more. He looks around, blue eyes scanning over his club, then towards the corner where two people are hidden in darkness and doing a bit more than dancing. He laughs, and his eyes land back on Axel. “This club is getting trashier by the day. Can I get you anything? A drink?”

“Uhm, no, I had a few...” Axel rubs his neck, awkward now that this moment has finally come. His heart is beating fast, pressing against his rib cage, and he makes an effort to keep his breathing normal even though his lungs are begging for deep breaths. The room is suddenly hot, and Axel hopes that the dim colored lights don't show how red he is.

“Oh, cool. Well, if you need anything...” He trails off, pulling his phone out of his back pocket at a new text. Then he curses, and types a fast reply before looking back up to Axel again. He smiles apologetically. “My brother.”

Axel frowns. He thought the Strife brothers got along. “Is he coming tonight?”

Roxas rolls his eyes. “Yeah, of course. I was hoping he wouldn't, but he never does anything I want him to do. He's been really off the wall recently. Y'know how it is. You have an older brother.”

Axel laughed and looked around to find his brother. Reno is pouting in one of the lounge chairs against the walls, glaring around at the people having fun and drinking. “Yeah, I feel it.”

The music changes to a Lana Del Rey dubstep remix, and Roxas perks up. “This music makes me want to drink. Come with me to the bar.”

Roxas takes his arm without getting an answer, hand holding on to Axel's bicep as he leads him towards the filled bar. They pass Reno, who's eyes follow Axel in a heated gaze, and at the bar they encounter Seifer, who is with the same woman as before as she laughs at something he's said. Larxene is dancing with a guy now, a tall blonde man who, even in her heels, Larxene only meets at shoulder length. There's no sign of Leon anywhere, but Axel suspects that he's lounging somewhere with a fruity drink and his cell phone.

Roxas leans over the counter and gets his bartender's attention, who abandons the customer he's talking with to come over. The bartender is a tall women with red hair and a tattoo trail of stars along the side of her face, her ears pierced with over a dozen piercings. Her nose ring has a gold chain that is attached to one of her earrings. “What can I get you, boss?”

“A bottle of Sky,” Roxas says. “Two glasses, a bucket of ice, and a key to the back room. Thanks, Stacey.”

When Roxas is handed the bottle with the keys and silver bucket of ice, two cups shoved into the ice to keep them cool, he turns around and grins at Axel. “Follow me, Axel.”

 

**~o~**

 

Leon found himself in one of the sofas towards the front of the club, a Sex on the Beach in his hand and his phone in the other, scrolling down a CNN news article on a kidnapping in the Middle East. The drink, half gone, has condensation around the glass. The water is cold on his hand, but the club is hot and full of life. People stare at him, wonder why he isn't up and dancing with strangers and getting shit faced, but this isn't Leon's scene. He's more into drinking with friends, or alone, or with a date (not that he's had a date recently). Dancing isn't really his thing, and mingling with strangers bores him. Besides that, there's no one here who interest him, both for a new friend or a one night stand. Despite this, he isn't bored. This is his fourth drink, and he's quite entertained by the music and the people, and of course by the news website that peaks his interest more with every article.

He's reading up on the issues happening in Ukraine when he hears a familiar voice, one that he's only heard once, and one that he'll never forget. Cloud Strife strolls into the club, his arm thrown around a much smaller boy- who has to be over twenty-one, but looks as if he's fourteen. He's laughing, and the boy-man is giggling at something he said, but the boy-man isn't the one who has Leon's attention.

Cloud Strife is just as glorious as the day they first met. His button up shirt is haphazardly tucked into his black dress pants, and his tie is loose from excessive tugging. The sleeves of his button up are rolled up to his forearms, showing tattoos and a silver Rolex watch that is circled with diamonds. He's wearing sunglasses, even inside, and runs a hand through his blonde hair. He pulls the boy-man closer, steers him towards the bar, and sets him on one of the empty stools and takes the place next to him. Then he orders a bottle and two glasses, and pours it himself, leaning closely into the boy-man as he talks.

Leon wants to sleep with Cloud.

In his lifetime, Leon has had six one night stands, with complete strangers that he'd met at a gay bar, and one woman that was more than amazing but not quite his type. He never called any of them after that, never added them on Facebook, and never went to the bar he picked them up at again. He wouldn't be able to bring himself to blow off Cloud like that. He couldn't just have a one night stand with someone like Cloud. He interested Leon too much.

Now Cloud is touching the boy-man's leg, hand sliding up the leggings the smaller one is wearing. Then his hand is on a hip, the other brushing hair from out of eyes, pulling the smaller closer, kissing him in front of everyone.

Leon sighs and looks away. Finishing his drink, he leaves his empty glass on the coffee table next to his seat and gets up to look for Larxene. He finds her dancing, a drink in her hand and lifted in the air, in the middle of the dance floor. She's nearly blacked out with how much she's already drank, the night hardly starting. Leon pushes people out of his way to get to her, and when she sees him she shrieks and runs to him the best she can, falling onto him when her heels trip up. She laughs and takes a large gulp from her margarita.

“You're already drunk,” Leon sighs, holding her up by her sides as she puts her free hand on his shoulder.

“And you're observant,” she returns. She drops the cup, and whats left of it sloshes in green against the colored floor, the green lit up by pink, the glass broken. She laughs again. “Whoops!”

Leon rolls his eyes and for a moment worries that someone may slip in the mess, but decides that if anyone slips in it, it would be Roxas's problem and not his own. Now that both of her hands are free, Larxene settles both on Leon's shoulders. She continues to dance to the music, against her friend who is less than uninterested, and she complains about her lost drink. She lolls her head back, then forward and nearly hits Leon's face. Leon's had a lot of experience with drunk people, so he doesn't get mad when she stomps on his foot, and doesn't really care when she calls him the wrong name. He _does_ care when she notices Cloud, and obviously points him out through the crowd with her finger, shouting, “Look! Your- your boyfriend is here!”

“Please, don't start.” Leon pulls her closer to shut her up, and once again she laughs and continues to dance. He wonders if Seifer is as drunk as her, but he'd seen him earlier at the bar with a girl, and when he's with someone he's interested in he tries to stay mostly sober. Sober enough to function. He looks around and doesn't see any of his friends, not even Reno who had been pouting in a chair earlier. He assumes that Seifer left with the girl already, something that he's good at. God knows where Axel is. If he ran into Roxas, he's probably following the porn star around like a puppy.

His eyes fall back on Cloud. Now he's kissing the boy-man's jawline, and the kid is loving it. He has a look of bliss on his face, eyes closed as Cloud works his way to his mouth again.

Leon curses and turns back to Larxene. She looks as if she doesn't know where she is, but she's enjoying it anyway. Then she looks at Leon as if he's a stranger, tries to say something, but it doesn't come out as words to him. The last drink must have finally hit her. He wonders how many she's had, and decides that it is probably in the double digits.

She puts a hand to her face, which is a mixture of pink and green. Her eyeliner is smeared on one eye, and her eyebrow is smeared to her hairline. She moans, and says, “I needta sit down... don't feel good...”

Leon supports her to the seat where Reno had been sitting and sets her down in it. She sinks down, groans, and kicks off one of her heels. The other stays on. She runs her hand down her face again, and then retches, but doesn't throw up yet. People watch them and some are laughing at how “trashy” Larxene is, making Leon mad but not mad enough to say anything. He pushes a loose strand of hair away from Larxene's damp face, and decides that if she throws up she can throw up on this floor, and hopefully on the shoes of the people watching.

Larxene is retching again, dry heaving over the side of the chair, and Leon is sure she's going to throw up this time. He probably should have taken her to the bathroom, but it was too far and she wouldn't have made it walking over there. Besides, his contempt for the people around them makes him want them to witness something as disgusting as vomit. He kneels down and helps her keep her hair out of her face, and is bracing himself for the stream of vomit he's about to see when something is being handed to him. The cool steel of it makes him realize that it's one of the buckets the bar provides, and had previously been filled with ice. Larxene snatches it out of his hands ass soon as she sees it, and with that, she's throwing up.

Leon looks to see who had handed him the bucket, and looks up the tall form of Cloud, standing above him and smirking. His date is still at the bar across from them, glaring distinctly at Leon, accusing him with his eyes of stealing his man away.

“You look good on your knees, Squall,” Cloud says smoothly, using Leon's real name, something that Leon isn't used to. The only people who call him Squall is his family, and even then it bothers him. Somehow, though, it doesn't feel wrong coming out of Cloud's mouth.

Leon doesn't reply, but takes a hand that is offered to help him up. He notes the lingering touch Cloud gives him, but is drawn back by the sound of Larxene's continued vomiting. He looks back at her, ashamed to be associated with this sort of company in front of someone like Cloud.

“You can take her to one of the back rooms,” Cloud says, looking at Larxene, too. “Roxas cleared out some of the back rooms just for you guys. Full access to the bar back there as well. Of course, I have my own key to the rooms. I'd be more than happy to let you back there. You know, for your friend.”

Leon goes over his options. He could always have Reno take Larxene home, but Reno would want everyone to leave then, and he's sure that Axel would be pissed if they did. He could also call Larxene a cab, but he doesn't trust cab drivers to take a drunk girl home alone, and he doesn't want to leave with her just yet now that he's finally gotten Cloud's attention. The back room is the best choice he currently has, and he accepts it after a pause.

Larxene has to be carried, and when Leon scoops her up in his arm and Cloud grabs her discarded shoe, she leans her head against his shoulder and mumbles something. They leave the bucket filled with vomit when Cloud assures him that someone in the staff will grab it.

The back rooms are led into from the same room that holds the dance floor, led down by a long hallway with purple doors. The hallway is illuminated with dark purple lights from the ceiling, and the doors have numbers on them, from 1 to 15. Cloud leads him to room number 10, and pulling a key from his back pocket with a pink rabbits foot attached to it, he unlocks the door. Leon hopes that it's not a real rabbits foot.

Cloud pushes open the door with his shoulder, and reaches on the wall to turn on the lights. The room illuminates with normal lighting, though dim. It has a black C-shaped couch around a glass table, a mini fridge on the other side of the couch, and a mini bar against the far wall with various little bottle shots on a shelf. The carpet is also black, and the walls are painted white with framed photography on the walls. While the room is magnificent, Leon's eyes are still on the rabbit's foot in Cloud's hand.

Cloud follows his gaze and laughs. “Don't worry, it's not real. I don't eat meat, I wouldn't be walking around with a chopped off rabbit limb in my pocket.”

Leon relaxes his shoulders in relief. His little vegan heart wouldn't have been able to handle something like that. Even for someone like cloud, a real rabbit's foot would have been a deal breaker.

Leon set Larxene down on the couch, and she groaned and laid back, rubbing away any visible trace of vomit from her mouth with the back of her hand. She seems to fall asleep immediately, or at least blacks out enough to stop any moving besides her deep breathing heaving at her chest. Her dress has ridden up to around her hips, and Leon fixes it for her, pulling it down as far as it will go, and then takes off her other shoe. He tosses it on the table where Cloud had put the other one.

He grabs two bottles of water from behind the bar, and put them on the edge of the table for if Larxene wakes up. He even opens them up for her and replaces the lid, knowing that she always has a hard time opening bottles on her own when she gets like this. Then he puts a pillow under her head, and deciding that she's comfortable enough now, he turns back to Cloud.

“Thanks.”

“Are you guys, like, dating?”

Leon has long since lost track of how many times he's been asked that. “No. I'm gay.”

Cloud laughs. “Ay, me too. I don't see how you would have known that, though. I'm _so_ good at hiding it.”

Leon catches on to the sarcasm instantly, and is reminded of the boy-man Cloud had been with earlier. Shouldn't he return to his date? “Oh, yeah, I never would have guessed. What happened to your date, anyway? He looked pissed when you came to save us.”

Cloud shrugs and turns to go to the bar, picking up a few Jack Daniels shots. He pours four into a glass and puts ice in it. As he does so, he says, “Yeah, he's a little much. He got mad because I pointed you out. I ain't about that. Can't be with a guy who won't let me hang with the bros.”

“The bros,” Leon repeats. When Cloud offers him a drink, he puts his hand up in denial. “We're bros?”

Cloud takes as sip of his drink. “Only if you want to be.”

Cloud drinks the whiskey all at once, and then pours Jaeger into the same glass. He drinks this too, and then throws the empty shot bottles into a trash can behind the counter. The leaves the glass and the few ice cubes inside it on the counter.

“So. You gonna watch her all night? Or do you wanna go to one of the other private rooms?”

Leon wonders if that's a good idea. He looks over at Larxene, his passed out friends, and isn't sure if she'll be safe here alone. He doesn't want anything to happen to her just because he wants to spend time alone with Cloud. Then again, what could Cloud possibly want to do with him? The idea is appealing, much more appealing than watching a drunk girl toss and turn while she sleeps.

“Don't worry,” Cloud says, walking up to him from behind the bar. “The room locks, and I'm the only one who has a key to every door, besides my brother. And anyway, he doesn't carry his key with him when he comes in, so don't worry about anyone walking in on her. It's completely safe.”

Leon frowns. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then... Yeah. I'll go with you.” Leon isn't sure if he'll regret this decision or not, but he's willing to take the chance.

Cloud leads him down the hall to another room, labeled room 7, and when Cloud closes and locks the door behind him, Leon knows he's in for a night. He wonders briefly what Axel is doing with the other Strife brother, but the thought is pushed out of his mind as soon as Cloud presses his lips against his own and pushes him against the wall.

 

**~o~**

 

In room 8, Axel and Roxas are lounging on the C-shaped sofa that takes up most of the space in the back room. Roxas had made them both martinis out of the vodka they brought and flavored shot bottles that were already in the back. The martinis, which they put in the rocks glasses that Roxas had gotten from the bar in the dance room, are sweet and bitter at the same time. Axel has never been big on flavored drinks, and usually prefers hard alcohol with ice, but these are good. The fact that Roxas has made one especially for him makes it taste ten times better.

Roxas had taken off his shoes, leaving himself in black socks that he had on the edge of the couch with his knees up to his chest. There's music playing from a speaker that connects to the DJ outside, the control panel to which is on the wall next to the light switch. It's turned low, letting in a stream of pop music into the room from four speakers positioned in every ceiling corner. Axel sits awkwardly, tensely, with his drink gripped tight in his hands on his lap and a whole couch cushion between himself and Roxas. Roxas is talking, and he's listening intently to every word and every syllable that comes out of that perfect mouth.

“So, Axel,” Roxas sloshes the drink in his glass, staring down at it before looking back up to Axel. “Tell me something about yourself.”

“Uh...” Axel isn't sure what to say. “Like what?”

“I don't know. _Something_. What's your favorite color?”

Axel hesitates. “Red.”

“Oh.” Roxas's eyes flip to his hair, and then back to his eyes. “Like your hair. But I'm sure you get that a lot, don't you?”

Axel shrugs.

“Well, mine is blue. Pale blue.” Roxas sips from his drink, thinking of another question. “Okay, so what about music? What are you into? What's your favorite band?”

This feels a lot like a job interview, Axel decides. “Uh, Glam Metal, I guess. I like  Mötley Crüe. I have all of their CD's.”

Roxas giggles- _giggles_ at something _he_ said- and pushes Axel's arm playfully. “ _Wow_ , you are such a stereotype. Mötley Crüe? Really? I bet you like Guns N' Roses, too.”

Axel would be ashamed to admit that his name came directly from the lead singer of that band, Axl Rose, because his parents were huge metal fans back in the day. He pouts, pushing air on one side of his mouth, and looks Roxas over. “That's rich, coming from the stereotypical twink porn star.”

Roxas mocks offense. “I'm not a _twink_!”

“Yes you _are_! You're practically the _definition_ of twink!”

“And _how_ is that?” Roxas crosses his arms stubbornly.

Axel counts off on his fingers, “You're small, blonde, sexy, and you take more dick than you can count.”

Roxas laughs. “Sexy, huh? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were hitting on me.”

Axel draws a blank and stares at Roxas for a long time, face red and embarrassed that he probably _was_ flirting. He hasn't done any real flirting in years, and he has no idea how to do it. And anyway, he doesn't know how to flirt with _guys_ at all. Especially guys like Roxas. So it wasn't his intention when he said that, honestly. If he had the courage to say something like that in an honest, flirtatious way, then he would have tried to date Roxas the first time they met. Unfortunately, Axel has no courage and is in a constant fear of being shot down by someone like Roxas.

Roxas laughs again and pats his shoulder gently. “Hey, I'm kidding. Don't worry. I don't have a thing for straight guys.”

“Oh.” Axel continues to stare, because what else is there to do? The room fills with a tense awkwardness that is all his fault, his creation for calling Roxas sexy, for being a stupid straight idiot. His mind doesn't let go of the way it felt to have Roxas touch his shoulder.

“Oh, come on. Don't get all quiet on me now. I'm only teasing you.” Roxas frowns, scooting closer to Axel on the couch. He sets his hand gently on Axel's upper thigh. He touches people a lot. “Why don't you finish your drink, and then we can go back out and find your friends. I'm sure your blonde friend is falling all over herself by now, and your brother is probably fuming.”

Axel nods and takes a short sip of his drink. He doesn't actually want to go back out there. Besides, Larxene should have Leon taking care of her. She's probably fine.

 

**~o~**

 

With two hands sliding up his thighs and hooking into the belt loops of his jeans, Leon is sure that there is no place in the world he'd rather be in that moment. Cloud is kissing his neck, murmuring in hot breathes. With his head back just a bit, Leon moans out from the contact. He slides his hands up Cloud's shirt and feels the hot skin of his sides on the palm of his hands. His head swims from drinking and from lust that only intensifies when Cloud starts to kiss his mouth again. He tastes like mint gum and whiskey. He kisses rough, tongue licking against Leon's lips and invading his mouth. Leon almost can't keep pace.

Suddenly, Cloud drops down to his knees, fingers working to unbuckle Leon's belt and pull it off quickly. He throws it behind him somewhere and then starts to unbutton his jeans. Pulling them down Leon's hips, his boxers-briefs are the only thing hiding his manhood from Cloud. His half hard dick is outlined by the fabric and Cloud looks at it, then up at Leon, a half grin on his face. He asks, “Is this okay?”

Does he really need to ask? Leon nods shortly.

Cloud laughs lightly and starts to pull down the underwear slowly and seductively. He pulls them to join Leon's pants halfway down his hips, and Leon's cock is fully out now. Cloud looks back up at Leon with the same cocky grin. Digging in his pocket, he pulls out a purple condom package with a cartoon grape on the wrapper. He looks back to the penis. “Hey, big guy. I got just the thing for you.”

He rips the condom wrapper open with his teeth and then takes hold of the cock in one hand, rubbing his hand up and down to get Leon completely hard. Then he positions the condom on the tip of his cock and pinches the tip, rolling the condom back. He winks up at Leon. “Grape flavored.”

And finally, Cloud takes the base of Leon's dick and takes the whole thing in his mouth at once. Leon groans and tangles his fingers in Cloud's hair, feeling Cloud bob his head along his cock. He hasn't been deep throated like this since college.

“F _uuuu_ ck,” Leon drags out, closing his eyes and letting himself feel everything. The way Cloud's throat tightens, his lips graze his dick, his teeth just _slightly_ scrape against his skin. He hums, mouth vibrating, and _goddamn_ that feels good.

Cloud is staring up at him, watching his every reaction, and Leon would be lying if he said that being watched like this didn't make the blowjob feel ten times better. Those eyes can watch him all day. He pushes some of Cloud's bangs away from his face to see them better, and they catch the light above them. He's loving this, smiling around Leon's cock up at him when he sees Leon staring. He pulls the dick out of his mouth with a wet noise and wipes his mouth with the back of his free hand. Leon bites the inside of his cheek and keeps back his noise of disappointment.

Cloud is pumping Leon's dick now with one hand. “You like that? Huh? You want me to do it more?”

“Yeah,” Leon shakes his head and caresses the side of Cloud's face. Cloud nuzzles his hand affectionately and then licks up his palm with a moan. Fuck, he's so sexy.

“How much do you want it?” Cloud asks.

The only thing Leon is able to choke out is, “Please, Cloud.”

“Ooh, I like that...” Cloud slows his pumps. “Keep saying my name.”

He takes the cock back in his mouth again and this time goes faster. Then pulls back, pumps with his hand, then takes the dick again. The whole time, Leon periodically moans out his name, and every time he does Cloud does this thing with his throat that drives Leon crazy. And then, after a surprisingly extended amount of time, Leon finally feels himself giving in. honestly, he's surprised he'd lasted this long, with the way Cloud was working him. When he cums, he moans out Cloud's name loudly and his grip on Cloud's hair tightens. It makes Cloud moan and pull his head back, reveling at the way Leon handles him. He has a huge grin spread on his face and his hand keeps pumping as Leon orgasms, riding it out for him for maximum pleasure.

Leon is left breathing heavily, Cloud still on his knees in front of him. Cloud pulls off the condom and just tosses it on the floor, wiping off any sperm from Leon's dick with his hands and shaking it off. It gets on the carpet, but he doesn't care, and just pulls up Leon's underwear and pants for him, zipping and buttoning them back up. Then he pats his hips and stands. “Well, that was fun. Let's do it again some time.”

Leon blinks and watches Cloud walk in a circle around the room in search of his belt. He finds it on the edge of the couch where it fell when he threw it. Before he goes back to Leon, he stops by the bar and fills a high ball drinking glass to the brim with a brown liquor. Then he walks across, tosses the belt to Leon, and opens the door. Before he leaves, he looks at Leon thoughtfully. “Mmh, I have to unlock the door to your friends room. I almost forgot. Come on, just leave the condom there. We have janitors.”

“Oh, uh, okay,” Leon drags out, pulling back on his belt. Then he follows Cloud out the door and Cloud slams it shut behind them.

 

**~o~**

 

The club is starting to thin out by the time Axel finishes his drink and Roxas finishes three more. The dance floor is still packed as everyone grinds to a Katy Perry song, and the only one in his group who he can find is his brother Reno who is still in the same seat as he was before. He looks livid as he glares into the crowd of dancers in front of him. Axel almost feels bad. He'll have to make it up to him later, he decides.

Roxas is looking around, too. He has to shout over the music. “I can't find my brother. I wonder if he went home with someone.”

“Yeah, I can't find any of my friends,” Axel shouts back. He absently notes that the song playing is about to come to an end. He looks to the bar and still, none of his friends. He'll have to text Leon soon if he doesn't find anyone.

The song changes to a song that he's heard a few times, but doesn't actually know. He pays it no mind at all and peers into the crowd for anyone he knows. Still, no one. Next to him, Roxas makes an excited noise and draws his attention. He looks up at Axel excitedly and tugs on his arm. “I _love_ this song! Let's dance!”

He pulls Axel out to the dance floor without getting a confirmation. Axel still has no idea what song this is, but he knows that it's by Nicki Minaj, and everyone is jumping to the beat. Roxas leads him direction to the middle of the dance floor where the lights underneath them change in a rainbow of colors. Roxas presses against him and moves his body in a seductively smooth way, and Axel doesn't know how to dance so he mostly just stands there and tries to figure out the name of this song. Maybe he _has_ heard it before.

After a few moments, Roxas stops his dancing and frowns up at him. “What are _you_ thinking so hard about?”

“What's the name of this song?”

Roxas gapes. “You haven't heard this song?! Do you live under a rock?” He takes Axel's hands and starts to sway his hips. “It's Starships. Join the real world sometime, Axel.”

Axel laughs and decides to focus on more important things, like the way Roxas is holding his hands and moving against him. He's just a little drunk and Roxas is even worse, tripping over his feet, falling into Axel's arms and laughing. He presses his face against Axel's chest and compliments his cologne. Axel blushes and runs a hand down his face, muttering “Oh man.” Yeah, he's got it bad for this guy.

His chest feels light and he's not sure if its from the drinking or from the love high. The chorus of the song takes over and Roxas turns so that his back is pressed against Axel, and he has his hand placed gently against Axel's neck as he dances. His nose nuzzles against Axel's chin and his other hand guides one of Axel's to his hip. He laces their fingers together while he moves against him, rolling his body and turning his hips. God, if Axel could actually dance, this would be the most amazing moment in history. Of course, it still beats out any moment in his life so far, even if he's just standing there while Roxas grinds against him.

For a moment, with the way Roxas is caressing his face with his own so close, Axel almost thinks that Roxas is going to kiss him.

But the moment is gone as soon as it happens when the song ends and Roxas steps away, turning gracefully to face him again. He's smiling, looking up at Axel almost fondly. “You can't dance, can you?” When Axel shrugs, he just laughs and takes his hand again, squeezing it lightly with his fingers. “Maybe I can teach you some day. Would you like that?”

_More than anything_ , Axel thinks, but he swallows and says, “Yeah, that would be cool.”

Roxas continues to smile, looking drunk and happy and for the first time genuinely happy in front of Axel in a not excited-for-my-new-tattoo way. He looks like he's about to say something, and Axel is anxious over it, but then something behind him catches Roxas's eye and instead he says, “Oh! There's my brother. Come on.”

He drags Axel by his hand, pushing people out of his way as if they're not his customers. Cloud is standing with Leon on the edge of the dance floor waiting for them, looking down at his phone and one hand in his front pocket. Leon has Larxene leaning against him and she looks sick, one arm around his shoulder and the other pressed against her mouth. Reno comes and joins them as well.

“Hey,” Roxas greets his brother, and Cloud grunts and pockets his phone. “Where have you been?”

“Where do you think?” Cloud puts on that cocky half grin that Axel has seen a few times on him.

Roxas rolls his eyes. “Yeah, okay, I'll send a janitor.”

“I think it's time we called it a night,” Reno speaks up after clearing his throat. “I mean, Seifer is missing and Larxene looks like she's dying. And it's getting late.”

“And you're not having fun,” Axel says what his brother doesn't want to say, but means. Reno glares at him and then turns to Leon when he laughs.

“Well ex _cuse_ me for not having a fun time sitting in that chair all night.”

“No one told you to sit in that chair, jackass.”

“Well, what else was I supposed to do!”

“Dance?”

Reno turns red from anger. “You know I can't dance!”

Roxas chuckles, fingertips placed gently against his mouth, and looks to Axel. “Does it run in the family?”

“Unfortunately,” Axel grumbles. He goes to Larxene and takes the weight off of Leon by taking her, instead. She mumbles something about hating them all and wanting to get the fuck him when she puts her arm around him. “Yeah, we'll get you home, Larx. Don't worry.”

“We should definitely call it a night,” Leon says.

Roxas pouts. “Damn, so soon? Well, okay. I hope you guys have fun, even though...” He nods to Larxene. “Well, she was having fun at first. May have drank and danced too much. She had roughly twelve drinks, which is a little much since we don't water down our drinks here.” He looks to Cloud. “Can you carry her out? I want to talk to Axel.”

Cloud groans, but listens to his little brother and walks up to Larxene with his arms out and says, “Come on.” He picks her up bridal style like Leon had done earlier and she looks confused at first but goes with it and presses her forehead against his shoulder. Before he turns away to walk out with her, he says, “If you throw up on me, I'm dropping you.” She nods.

Leon and Reno follow them out, Reno looking back at his brother uncertainly, but Axel nods him on knowing that Reno doesn't trust the porn star that he's in love with. Roxas watches them walk all the way out before he turns back to Axel.

He almost looks shy, standing there with his eyes downcast and kicking one foot slightly against the tile. It's probably just the lighting, but his face seems to be just the slightest shade of pink from a blush. Of course, that's impossible because everything Axel is feeling is one sided, and will probably  _always_ be one sided. There's no way Roxas would go for someone like him. 

“I realized that you don't have my number,” Roxas says finally, and he holds out his hand. It takes Axel a moment to process that Roxas wants his phone. He nearly drops it in a panic to pull it out of his back pocket, and then unlocks it before handing it to Roxas. Roxas types into it at expert speed and is done in ten seconds flat before close mouthed smiling up at Axel and handing him back his phone. “I want you to call me next week so that we can go out some time. As friends, I mean. No homo.”

Axel had completely gotten his hopes up only to get them knocked down again. He deflates.  _No homo_ . But Roxas doesn't notice and simply pats his arm before saying, “I'll see you around, Axel. And  _don't_ forget to call me.”

And then he's gone again. Once again, Axel is left alone without Roxas, standing there dumbly and watching him walk away.

Roxas isn't interested in him.

But at least he wants to be friends.

At least this time, Axel has his number.

And that feels really nice.

 

**~o~**

 

“Oh, _goood_ , I am _never_ drinking again,” Larxene sighs, holding a ice pack to the side of her head. She has her head pressed against the cold counter top of the front counter of the shop, trying to beat the killer hangover she'd gotten from the night before. All she's wearing is a sports bra and yoga shorts, having stripped off her shirt because the shop was too hot for her. 

“You say that _every_ week,” Seifer stares at her irritably. He's mad because the girl he'd taken home last night didn't leave him a number. She didn't even leave him a _name_.

Larxene moans, head throbbing from Seifer talking to her. “Shut the  _fuck_ up.”

Reno is also in a bad mood, still angry from last night. He's holding a grudge against everyone who had gone and actually had fun last night, having not been able to get a drink himself. From his seat in the lobby, he glares at where Axel and Leon are standing by the entrance, waiting for opening time. “And what are  _you_ two so happy about?”

Axel hadn't even realized that Leon was actually in a surprisingly good mood, and Leon had just figured that Axel was happy not to be hungover. Neither of them actually know what had happened to the other and their specific Strife brother the night before, but they both just assume that it's their own personal business. They won't question each other or pry, unlike the other members of the shop. Neither of them will ever mention it around the other members of the shop in fear of being exposed themselves. And neither of them will admit now, of all times, that they have any sorts of feelings for the porn porn star or his manager brother.

So both of them just shrug, and leave it at that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic will be about 5 chapters long, plus an epilogue. Also, I changed the fic from past tense to present tense, so sorry for the sudden change in the writing. Get ready for a lot of gay and drug use! See you guys next time~!


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